Suspected Jontay Porter co-conspirator arrested in apparent escape attempt to Australia

A Brooklyn man was arrested Monday and is accused of plotting to defraud a gambling company along with others, including recently banned NBA player Jontay Porter, prosecutors in New York City said Thursday.

According to the indictment, Long Phi Pham, nicknamed “Bruce,” was arrested as he attempted to board a flight to Australia on a one-way ticket at John F. Kennedy International Airport. He reportedly had $12,000 in cash, two bank checks totaling $80,000, betting slips and three cell phones.

The ticket was reportedly purchased a day after the government sought to question one of Pham’s three alleged co-conspirators, all of whom remain at large. Their identities are redacted in the criminal complaint.

The Justice Department’s notice and criminal complaint do not identify Porter by name, but the details of the case closely match what led to Porter’s lifetime ban from the NBA. ESPN has also identified Porter as the player involved.

Jontay Porter is said to have cancelled games due to debts to the bookmaker

The new information states that Porter allegedly ran up a “significant” gambling debt to one of the defendants, who allegedly encouraged him to pay off the debt by playing a “special” (i.e., quitting a game early to ensure his underscores came in).

Among the messages included by prosecutors is Porter telling the defendant: “If I don’t do a special on your terms, it’s over. And you hate me, and if I don’t get you $8,000 by Friday, you’re coming to Toronto to beat me up.”

Porter subsequently left a Toronto Raptors game on January 22 with a diagnosis of a corneal abrasion. Porter allegedly told Pham and his co-conspirators that he would withdraw from the game on January 26, which he did, recording zero points, three rebounds and one assist. He told team officials that he aggravated the corneal abrasion, but a video review showed no contact with Porter’s eyes.

Meanwhile, a relative of one of the defendants allegedly bet $10,000 on Porter’s points, assists and steals and won $75,000. Another defendant allegedly bet $7,000 on a combination of points, assists and rebounds and won $33,250.

Before another game on March 20, Porter complained of symptoms suggestive of food poisoning and then allegedly told Pham’s group that he was leaving the game early. The group allegedly agreed to a profit-sharing deal in which Porter would receive 24% of the winnings.

Pham continued playing the game and was eliminated after three minutes, while the defendants allegedly placed a series of sub-bets. Among the bets, the Justice Department says, they allegedly wagered a total of $109,900 and made a profit of $1,167,625.

If the group had implemented its profit-sharing plan, this windfall would have earned Porter $280,230.

At this point, however, the betting companies involved became understandably suspicious and suspended the account of one defendant. They then reported the bets to the NBA and the International Betting Integrity Association, who subsequently turned the case over to the FBI.

It was a remarkably brazen plot that involved betting unexplained amounts of money on a little-known player, so it wasn’t difficult to uncover.

Jontay Porter: “Could easily get hit by Rico”

After the games that would cost him his NBA career, Porter allegedly texted the group “might just get hit wa rico” and asked them if they had deleted “all the stuff” from their personal phones. “Rico” is a reference to the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which is often used to combat organized crime.

The group was apparently not happy about having their money frozen at this point, as one defendant wrote to another: “I really have to put pressure on you (betting company 1). At least get my money back.” By this point, the NBA had already banned Porter.